A Howard University student renouncing her membership in Delta Sigma Theta, reopened the debate over whether Black Greek Letter Organizations are cults.
By Rev. Dorothy S. Boulware
Word in Black
Choosing which sorority or fraternity to pledge is a decision often made before college students arrive on campus — usually based on chosen occupation, what your friends may be doing, and which group offers the most prestige for their future. And, of course, if legacy plays a part, it’s really decided.
Every now and then, however, the issue arises as to whether the values of the Divine Nine — historically Black fraternities and sororities — are in sync with students’ personal Christian values.
Such was the case on May 20 when Howard University rising senior Zora Sanders posted an open letter to Instagram that said she was renouncing her membership in one of these Black Greek Letter Organizations.
“I am a Spring 2024 Initiate of Alpha Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. I am writing this letter to inform Nationals that I have officially renounced and denounced membership in this organization,” Sanders wrote.
Sanders said that she’d done her due diligence in researching her chosen sorority, but “despite all the research and information I had gathered, I was not aware of the specific requirements.” She then detailed what she now considers to be ritual parts of the Delta initiation that she felt betrayed her faith.
“In order to become a member, I had to make a pledge, swear an oath of allegiance, and perform a ritual ceremony that involved kneeling/bowing at an altar,” Sanders wrote.
Ultimately, she concluded the process of crossing over to become a Delta involved “idolatry, a sin that costs eternal life.”
Going public in this manner sparked a firestorm of reactions across social media platforms, with many folks upset that Sanders denounced her membership in the Alpha chapter — the first chapter of Delta Sigma Theta. Folks pointed out that she may have taken the spot of another woman who wanted to be in the sorority. Other folks were upset that Sanders shared private information about the initiation process in a public forum. But most of all, folks took issue with the insinuation that BGLOs are in some way cultish or satanic.
Dr. Karsonya (Kaye) Whitehead, host of WEAA’s “Today with Dr. Kaye” show in Baltimore, has been a Delta since 1989. She finds Sanders’ assertion surprising and thinks it’s just TikTok fodder, where everything is done publicly for likes and monetization.
“I am a Christian, a pastor’s kid, and a Delta. I am what people call a crib Baptist, in that I was stuffed with the word when I was in the crib. There has never been a moment when I felt that my faith conflicted with my sorority values,” Whitehead says.
“We pray together, attend church together, and lift each up,” Whitehead says of her fellow Deltas. “We have a large number of members active in their local churches — from deaconesses to pastors to ministers to bishops to prayer warriors.”
Poet, theologian, and educator Ajanaé Dawkins, a fourth-generation member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that she was once “deep in a toxic religious space that almost convinced” her to denounce her membership.
“Theologies that isolate you, demonize the world around you, & demand allegiance to God through public performance creep slowly.”
Dawkins wrote that initially, her membership in AKA wasn’t an issue in her faith community. But the idea of denouncing her membership “was introduced slowly until one day it was being demanded in altar calls.”
And in an op-ed he wrote in February, Rev. Keith Magee, chair and professor of practice in social justice at Newcastle University noted that “some Christians have denounced their BGLOs, publicly attacking them for being ‘idolatrous’ in their use of symbolic Greek letters and for causing members to put loyalty to their organization above loyalty to their faith.”
Magee is convinced “that through the story of Jesus’ life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension and soon-to-come return, the message He is sending us, in His wisdom, is one of love. I try to embody that message in everything I do.”
He also said he’s “a proud member of two Black fraternities, Kappa Alpha Psi (one of the Divine Nine collegiate BGLOs) and Sigma Pi Phi (for professionals). Kappa was founded by 10 principled Christian men. With Kappa, I was younger when I crossed and not quite as knowledgeable as I am now about my faith. Nevertheless, at no point in my life have I ever entered into an unorthodox, uninformed, or ungodly alliance with a Greek deity. Nor have I ever sworn an oath that would in any way hinder, absolve, or negate my Christian beliefs.”
The Rev. Dr. Danielle L. Brown, senior pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Plainfield, New Jersey, encouraged some of the upset commenters on social media to leave Sanders alone. She also raised the issue of whether denouncing has become a trendy thing to do.
“Unfortunately she represents a generation where social media is an idol,” Brown wrote in a comment on Instagram about Sanders. “Denouncing is the latest trend. If this was done out of a new found desire to represent the Lord loudly, let’s just pray it goes beyond this one post. Nothing else on this page suggests such devotion, so perhaps it’s new.”
Brown also wondered if what Sanders “considers idolatry extends beyond an organization. Ultimately, her money, her choice, and wasted time.”
And, as Dawkins warned folks on X, “If you’re a Black woman or Black queer person being swept up by neo-conservative/harmful theologies, you aren’t the first or last. Avoid echo chambers. Question everything. Learn the difference between man made shame & the voice of God.”
This article was originally published by WordinBlack.com.
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